The Art of Knitting Fabrics, Realistic & Physically Based Modelling of Knitted Patterns, EUROGRAPHICS '98, Vol. 17, (1998), Number 3 proposes that a knitting fabric be modeled using a model in which the stitches of the knitting fabric are replaced by particles, and the particles are connected to each other by spring forces. It is assumed that each particle moves in accordance with the Euler-Lagrange equation of motion, and a stable value of the position of each particle is determined by numerically solving this differential equation using the Runge-Kutta method. As an estimate of the calculation load generated by this method, when 2×2=4 stitches are represented by one particle in order to reduce the number of particles on a knitting fabric of 100 courses×100 wales, the calculation load is 2500 particles, and it is difficult to solve differential equations for these 2500 particles in succession. Moreover, when the calculation load is heavy, the number of elements which must be ignored to simplify the simulation model increases, making it difficult to perform a realistic simulation.
WO03/032203A1, which is a prior application of the inventor, discloses a method and device for increasing the ability to represent fluff on a yarn during a loop simulation. Also disclosed is a method for creating an image of a stitch by allocating a plurality of control points to a single stitch.